He will report to Anthony Diamandakis and Christian Anderson, global co-head of Citigroup’s Global Asset Managers group. Mr. Maskell’s hiring comes at a time when institutional investors are plowing money into infrastructure funds and private-equity firms to diversify from public securities and seek higher returns. Last year, Apollo Global Management LLC raised $23.5 billion a buyout fund while CVC Capital Partners set a fundraising record for Europe, attracting €16 billion ($19.6 billion)....

A consortium led by U.S. buyout firm Hellman & Friedman LLC on Monday agreed to acquire Denmark’s Nets NETS 6.31% A/S for 33.07 billion Danish Krone ($5.3 billion), the latest bet by private equity on the payments-processing sector. The deal is the latest in a wave of consolidation in the industry this year as firms seek to take advantage of the growing use of mobile devices to make payments. Payments companies are also under pressure to join forces to cut costs, develop new products and add...

Banco Santander SA’s plan to sell €7 billion ($7.85 billion) in stock to pay for its acquisition of Banco Popular Español SA highlights the real costs of rescuing its smaller, failing Spanish banking rival. Winning the auction for Banco Popular was considerably cheaper. It required Santander to pay just €1 for the bank’s equity. Such a...